Jim Holton, of Martinsburg, stands with his 1930 Model A Ford at the Friday Festival. Photo by Toni Milbourne

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The grassy area beside Shepherdstown Fire Hall was filled with classic cars at the annual Friday Festival last week, as beautiful weather prompted many to come secure a prime spot for the fire department’s annual Cruise-In. The cars gather in conjunction with an annual bake auction and gift raffle that helps raise money for the Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department.

Many who came out with their cars shined and ready for display have come on a regular basis to the cruise in that celebrated its 10th year Friday. Selecting spots next to each other were friends Jim Holton with his 1930 Model A Ford, Curly Schell with a 1972 Oldsmobile Vista Cruise Station Wagon, Donald Shirley with a 1957 Chevy Bel Aire Sport Coupe and Perry Mentzer with 1966 Ford Fairlane. These car owners shared that they enjoy going to multiple cruise ins and car show — some for trophy opportunities and some, like Shepherdstown, for fellowship.

Show organizer Aaron Raines explained that other than the year of Covid, the cruise in has been held for 10 years. In 2019, the event was held twice — unintentionally winning out over the pandemic’s cancellation of annual events.

Raines said approximately 75 cars showed up throughout the afternoon into early evening. He welcomed each driver as they arrived, handing out a small token bag of goodies and directing them to parking spots on the lawn.

While car folks perused the vehicles parked on the hillside, others gathered inside the fire department’s Barron Hall for a chance at taking home some delicious baked goods from the annual bake auction. Cakes, pies, cookies and fudge, lined tables as Densil Nibert once again donated his auctioneering skills to encourage bidders to offer great prices.

Maverick DeMeritt hands a chocolate cake to Ross Morgan, who purchased the chocolate cake that was baked by DeMeritt for $300. Morgan was bidding on behalf of his brother, D.L., who was not able to attend the auction. Photo by Toni Milbourne

Prices started on the high end as several cake and cookie entries sold for hundreds of dollars early in the evening. Bidders saw it was going to be a competitive night when the first item, a pan of lemon cookies, went to the highest bidder at $105. A chocolate cake soon after had two bidders battling out to secure the treat with Ross Morgan, bidding for his brother D.L. who was not able to attend, coming out on top at $300. The cake was baked with assistance from Maverick DeMeritt and it was his father, Marshall, who lost out to the Morgan brothers.

A peanut butter cake baked by Debbie Delaney had a battle going that was finally won by high bidder Denny Barron who secured the cake for $550. Other items that went at top dollar included a $200 win on peanut butter and chocolate candy and $136 on chocolate chip cookies.

For many years, the fire department received multiple baked goods from Jane See, who never accepted recognition for her donations. Bidders were always eager to secure one of her pies or cakes. See passed away this year; however, her family members continued her legacy and contributed multiple items for the auction, many of them made from her recipes. The public continued to challenge each other to secure one of those items with the See name attached.

New to the auction this year was the start of a tradition to come as bidders sought to secure “ownership: of a beautiful pedal car that once purchased, will remain at the fire department but will have the “owner’s” name engraved. Each year the car will be re-raffled with the next successful bidder’s name added to the plaque. The bidding started at $500 for the right to claim the car for this year and it quickly escalated until Craig “Twiggy” Simpson won out with a $1,000 bid.

In addition to the pedal car, Raines donated a custom-made fire pit to be created at his Shenandoah Metal Fab business in Shenandoah Junction. The piece sold for $500, helping the collected money for the evening top out at over $7,000.

Taking a break between baked goods during the annual cruise in and baked auction at Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department, the pedal car shown, created by Aaron Raines, left, was auctioned to Craig "Twiggy" Simpson starting a tradition of offering "ownership" the car each year to the highest bidder. Photo by Toni Milbourne

Funds raised at the annual festival will add to the general fund of the department, which allows the volunteer company to provide fire and rescue services to the community.